The Elders
The Elders, also known as The Council of Elders, The Founders or The Powers That Be, are a council of extremely powerful Whitelighters who advise magical beings and also command the majority of Whitelighters themselves. Their purpose is to preserve the "greater good", which they do by commanding Whitelighters to watch over and protect witches and future Whitelighters. Elders mainly keep track of witches, Whitelighters, and even humans from the Heavens. They communicate with witches through Whitelighters, giving them messages and warning them of impending great threats. They also send Whitelighters after humans who are "Whitelighters to be" and clip their wings whenever serious rules are broken. When witches need advice about demons, or anything else that they know nothing about they can ask the Elders by sending their Whitelighters to them as Leo did many times for the sisters. Even to discuss a battle plan, witches can send their Whitelighters. Very few Elders ever come to Earth. Only in rare cases do they orb down. The Elder who spent the most time on earth was Leo as he had a family. A few others such as Gideon, Sandra and Odin orbed down the earth a few times (mostly on the Golden Gate Bridge) to talk directly to the Charmed Ones or Leo and even once for Zankou. Elders prefer to stay in the background and spend their time in the Heavens to protect themselves from harm (as only the orbing power belonging to Elders and Whitelighters can enter it). This explains why witches are not allowed in the Heavens, although the Charmed Ones once visited it (Piper three times). History Approximately 1000 BC, the Elders saw the Titans as a risk to the world and themselves. So they unleashed the powers of the Greek gods onto mortals, who were then able to use those powers to imprison the Titans for millennia and return the gods and their powers back to their resting place after the battle. Since that time, the Elders have been taking care and looking after the world. (Oh My Goddess! Part 1) The Elders did initially forbid the marriage of Piper Halliwell and Leo Wyatt, which they rescinded, allowing the wedding to occur later in 2001 (season 3). After Leo's efforts to save the Elders and the world, the Elders promoted him to an Elder, however he spent much of his time on Earth, became an Avatar and eventually "fell from grace" which is something no other Elder had ever done. Referred to as ... In the episode Secrets and Guys, Phoebe first learns about the Elders. Leo tells her about a "group of elder Whitelighters" known as "the Founders". Prue and Piper learn about them in the episode Love Hurts when they also first found out about Leo being a Whitelighter. They get called "Elders" more frequently starting with the episode "Blinded by the Whitelighter". They are also called "The Powers That Be" in the episode "Once Upon A Time". Other Information Despite the fact that many Elders are former Whitelighters (as a result of a form of promotion), many are witches or other magical beings who have become Elders due to their services for Good. An example of this is seen in Witches In Tights, where Kevin, a young witch, becomes an Elder after the death of Ramus (his powers were passed on to the youth). Elders who have been former magical beings retain their original powers and also possess the mental powers of an Elder. Although it was initially believed that the Elders' powers are mental and not physical, this was eventually proven to be wrong: many Elders possess deadly offensive powers such as Lightning bolts. They can also mimic powers such as energy balls, but they would not have any effect as they do not actually possess the ability. Whitelighters can do this too, like Nathalie did in Blinded by the Whitelighter while training with the Charmed Ones. Despite the fact that they share a common purpose of protecting the innocent and vanquishing evil, the Elders and the Charmed Ones did not have a good relationship. It had to do mainly with the dramatic differences in their natures: The Elders, being superior, high-ranking magical beings with powerful senses of duty, were "sticklers for the rules" and always placed their responsibilities towards the world above all things. The Charmed Ones, being first and foremost human beings despite their incredible witchcraft powers, very naturally hated to be confined by the restrictions and ideals imposed upon them by the Elders, who also seem to have an infuriating tendency to almost constantly interfere in their private and family lives for fear that they would be distracted from their Wiccan duties. It was often up to Leo to mediate between the sisters and the Elders, and even then whatever truces he could patch up between them were always shaky. Fortunately, in face of great crisis, both parties have been shown to be able to put aside their differences and work together effectively, showing that both do value the other in the eternal fight against evil. Appendices :(Book of Shadows text:) The Elders :'A's high-ranking force of Good, the Elders are the :highest level of guardian angels, they are also the :newer agents for Good, the Elders also guide and :direct Whitelighters and other charges. In times of :great need, Elders can aid with their vast wisdom. Elders by Name Elder_leo1.jpg|Leo Wyatt Sandra_1.jpg|Sandra Odin_10.jpg|Odin Zola_1.jpg|Zola Jonnah_Elder1.jpg|Jonnah Elder_Ordinary1.jpg|Kheel Elder_!.jpg|Adair Elder_! (2).jpg|Aramis Roland-Elder1.jpg|Roland Elder_2OMG.jpg|Cecil Elder-Ramus.jpg|Ramus Elder_Gideon.jpg|Gideon Unidentified_Elder1.jpg|Unidentified Female Elder Unidentified_Elder2.jpg|Unidentified Female Elder 2 Elder_VCL1.jpg|Unidentified Male Elder Elder_Charrrmed1.jpg|Unidentified Male Elder 2 0addcc1.jpg|Kyle Brody Known Powers and Abilities Elders can protect themselves from evil by a powerful energy field. When Zankou tried to touch Sandra he was shocked by electricity (Ordinary Witches). Other powers exhibited by Elders include, but are not limited to: * Orbing * Healing * Sensing * Electrokinesis * Telekinesis * Molecular Dispersion * Power Granting * Shielding * Invisibility * Regeneration * Premonition * Empathy * Power Stripping * Conjuration * Immortality * Dream Manipulation * Energy Waves * Divination * Reconstitution * Telepathy * Remote Orbing * Photokinesis * Immunity * Projection (a few) * Adjusting * Thermokinesis Notes *The Elders clothing has changed many times over the course of the series. The retiring Elder Ramus was shown wearing a simple white robe. The next appearance of Elders saw them wearing golden, single-layered robes. Then in later seasons they started wearing white and gold, multi-layered robes. Brad Kern stated in a season 8 commentary that the clothing department could never get the robes just the way he wanted them. *It not clear whether an Elder's offspring is granted Elder-like powers, as in the Charmed novel, Leo Rising, it is shown that Chris Halliwell uses the Elder power, Electrokinesis. The novels are debatable to whether they are canon or not, so he may not orginally of been designed to have this power in the actual show. *Though it was previously stated that Whitelighters and Elders could only be killed by poison arrows forged by Darklighters, lightning bolts are also capable of killing them; the Titans killed many Elders with them, Leo killed both Gideon and Zola using them, and Sandra and a few others tried to kill Leo using them. But, this may only be possible when fired from powerful beings like the Elders themselves and the Titans. *In the episode Something Wicca This Way Goes...?, Sandra stated that a long time ago they put a spell in the Book of Shadows to banish the Suxen/Nexus; from this, it can be assumed some of the other entries are or were added to the Book by them as well as the Warren witches. Portrayed By :Elizabeth Dennehy as Sandra :John De Lancie as Odin :Bruce Gray as Kheel :James Avery as Zola :Ian Abercrombie as Aramis :Ken Page as Adair :Eyal Podell as Roland :John Cothran, Jr. as Cecil :Gerry Becker as Ramus :Andrew James Allen as Kevin :Gildart Jackson as Gideon :Nigel Gibbs as Jonnah :John Richard Todd as the Unidentified Male Elder :Baadja-Lyne Odums as the Unidentified Female Elder Elders, The Elders, The Elders, The Category:The Magical Community